The wholesale electricity market has changed plenty in recent years, and if future projects are any indication, more change is on the way in the decade-plus ahead. On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Buchanan’s Alan Seltzer and Brattle’s Metin Celebi welcome colleague Andrew Levitt, a Senior Consultant at Brattle. Levitt is an expert in wholesale electricity policy, focused on evolving system needs. He’s an expert in market design for emerging resources and has worked with utilities, reg...
Aug 13, 2025•37 min•Ep. 50
On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Buchanan’s Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis welcome Jon Gordon, Director at Advanced Energy United. Advanced Energy United (AEU) is an industry association and advocacy group that represents the full range of advanced energy technologiesand services, both grid-scale and distributed. In his role, Jon leads AEU’s work to increase wholesale electricity market access for advanced energy technologies, including related transmission expansion. The conversati...
Jul 30, 2025•27 min•Ep. 49
What exactly is needed to prepare the electrical grid for load growth expected to come from electric vehicle adoption? What role does the clean energy industry play? On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Buchanan’s Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis sat down with Ryan Gallentine, Managing Director of Advanced Energy United. Advanced Energy United is a national industry association representing businesses that provide the full range of advanced energy and transportation solutions. Gallentine ...
Jul 16, 2025•28 min•Ep. 48
Clean hydrogen may be the future of renewable energy to some, but substantial upfront costs are a hindrance to truly enabling the industry to flourish. The First Public Hydrogen Authority (FPH2) and CEO Jason Caudle are working to change that. On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Buchanan’s John Povilaitis and Alan Seltzer talk with Caudle about FPH2 and the future of hydrogen energy. Prior to FPH2, Caudle spent the entirety of his career in local government, working for the city of Lanca...
Jul 02, 2025•26 min•Ep. 47
For some time, marketing hydrogen in an affordable way has been a challenge to say the least. One company, Grimes Carbon Tech, says that assertion is untrue and they have the technology to prove it. On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Buchanan’s Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis welcome Joseph Maceda, founder of Grimes Carbontech, and Haydn Palliser, Principal at green energy transition advisory firm Pivotal 180 and Grimes Carbontech advisor, to talk about their company and its hopeful te...
Jun 18, 2025•22 min•Ep. 46
What goes into building the largest underground electrical substation in the U.S., and why is the project so important? To answer this question, Buchanan’s Alan Seltzer and Brattle’s Metin Celebi sat down with Maija Benjamins, Director of Strategic Project Development at Eversource. Eversource is New England’s largest energy delivery company, serving 4.4 million electric and natural gas customers across Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. At Eversource, Maija plays a key role in shapi...
Jun 04, 2025•31 min•Ep. 45
How can digital infrastructure unlock electric grid capacity? Dynamic line ratings, or DLR, is a technology used by utilities to optimize the electrical carrying capacity of power lines. DLR helps them account for real-time issues like weather and dynamically adjust the maximum capacity for a line. Today, LineVision is the only DLR provider using tower-mounted optical sensors today. Their patented non-contact LIDAR platform is mounted to transmission structures rather than to live lines, which i...
May 21, 2025•33 min•Ep. 44
The challenges that transmission operators and utilities face are growing by the day. Integrating renewables, extreme weather, and grid reliability are just a few. On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Buchanan's John Povilaitis and Brattle's Metin Celebi welcome Dr. Pablo Ruiz, co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer at NewGrid, Inc. Ruiz is an electrical engineer with over 15 years of experience in electric power systems analysis, research and software developmen...
May 07, 2025•29 min•Ep. 43
Cement is the critical ingredient required to make concrete – the literal foundation of countless construction projects here in the U.S. and abroad. However, the environmental impact of producing traditional cement has been one of the biggest downsides of this all-important building material. That is, until Fortera and its proprietary cement-making process takes off. On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Buchanan’s Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis speak with Keith Krugh, Chief Manufacturin...
Apr 23, 2025•23 min•Ep. 42
What is the outlook for the U.S. Energy Sector under President Donald Trump's second term in office? We welcome back Ed Hild, principal in Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney's government relations practice to give us a download on what to expect. Ed is a former Chief of Staff for Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and has deep connections with powerful voices in Washington, D.C. During this episode of Alternative Power Plays, hosts Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis speak to Ed as he shares his insight...
Apr 16, 2025•26 min•Ep. 41
As the world increasingly moves toward cleaner energy solutions, the demand for long-duration energy storage is at an all-time high. Hydrostor, a global leader in compressed air energy storage, is addressing this challenge by providing scalable, efficient, and sustainable alternatives to traditional battery technology. In this episode of Alternative Power Plays, hosts Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis speak with Scott Bolton, Executive Vice President of Global Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Hyd...
Apr 02, 2025•31 min•Ep. 40
In this episode of Alternative Power Plays, hosts Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis explore a transformative technology that is reshaping landfill energy with Melinda Sims, Co-Founder and Director of Product Development at LoCI Controls. The conversation will get into how LoCI's technology platform utilizes automation, advanced algorithms, and real-time data to optimize methane capture and reduce emissions. During the episode, Melinda discusses the delicate balance between maximizing gas collecti...
Mar 27, 2025•35 min•Ep. 39
The U.S. electric grid is experiencing unprecedented demand growth driven by data centers, manufacturing, and increased electrification. On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, hosts Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis are joined by Rob Gramlich, President of Grid Strategies. Rob breaks down the numbers behind this surge in demand and discusses its implications for grid reliability, power markets, and electricity prices. He highlights which regions are facing the highest load growth, identifies...
Mar 13, 2025•39 min•Ep. 38
In this episode of Alternative Power Plays, hosts Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis engage in a conversation with Aliya Bagewadi, the U.S. Director of Strategy Partnerships at Allume Energy. She discusses how Allume Energy is transforming solar access for apartment renters. Aliya shares more about the company’s origins in Australia and its mission to promote energy equity as it expands to markets in the U.S. and Europe. Throughout the episode, she highlights the benefits of Allume Energy for rent...
Mar 05, 2025•25 min•Ep. 37
In this episode of Alternative Power Plays, hosts Alan Seltzer and Elizabeth Rosentel, a senior advisor in Buchanan's state government relations group, interview Pennsylvania State House Representative Greg Vitali, who has dedicated decades to environmental and energy issues. As the first legislator in Pennsylvania to introduce climate change legislation and propose a severance tax on natural gas, Representative Vitali shares his journey from community environmental activism to chairing the Envi...
Feb 19, 2025•40 min•Ep. 36
In this episode of Alternative Power Plays, hosts Alan Selter and John Povilaitis explore the future of electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure with John Taggart, President and Co-founder of WeaveGrid. WeaveGrid is transforming the electrification of transportation by optimizing EV charging for utilities, EV manufacturers, and owners. During the discussion, Taggart shares insights on the company's software solutions, which aim to balance the increased load on electric grids with the need for renewa...
Dec 04, 2024•26 min•Ep. 35
On this episode of Alternative Power Plays hosts Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis sit down with Jørgen Festervoll, CEO of Heimdall Power, a company specializing in advanced monitoring technologies for electric transmission lines. During the discussion, Jørgen gets into his background, the company's mission to optimize power grids, and the functionality of their sensors, which have the ability to enhance grid capacity by 40% on average. The conversation covers the challenges of deploying new tech...
Nov 20, 2024•27 min•Ep. 34
On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, hosts Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis chat with Ted Bloch-Rubin, Director of Business Development Americas at Smart Wires, Inc. Ted discusses Smart Wires' grid-enhancing technologies, including their flagship product, the Smart Valve, and dynamic line rating software, Sumo. Ted then talks about how these technologies optimize grid use, enhance reliability, and support renewable energy integration. He highlights the company's global impact, and the cha...
Nov 13, 2024•35 min•Ep. 33
On this special episode of Alternative Power Plays, lead experts from the Brattle Group: John Tsoukalis, Metin Celebi, and Frank Graves, join the podcast for a panel discussion on recent energy market developments in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), focusing on the extended day-ahead markets (EDAM) and Markets+. Celebi, Graves, and Tsoukalis are Principals at Brattle with expertise in electricity markets, resource planning, environmental and climate policy analysis, regulator...
Oct 16, 2024•38 min•Ep. 32
On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, hosts Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis interview Elliot Anise-Hicks, co-founder and CTO of Oberon Fuels. During their discussion, Elliot discusses Oberon's journey from its start in 2010, initially focusing on biogas, then liquid fuels, and eventually to its current production of renewable dimethyl ether (DME). DME, a clean, non-toxic gas, can significantly reduce CO2 emissions when blended with liquefied petroleum gas. Later, Elliot highlights the tec...
Sep 25, 2024•33 min•Ep. 31
On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, John Povilaitis talks with Sarah Minczeski Delisle, VP of Government Affairs & Communications at Swell Energy. In this role, Sarah navigates the evolving policy environments at local, state, and federal levels to maintain the company's adaptive stance and strategic positioning. During their conversation, John and Sarah talk about virtual power plants, explaining what they are, their capabilities, and their benefits to consumers across diverse marke...
Jul 11, 2024•36 min•Ep. 30
Electric vehicles have long been seen as one of the biggest ways society can fundamentally move towards the fulfillment of clean energy goals—as long as they can truly go mainstream. This organization thinks it knows how to make that happen by 2030. On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Alan Seltzer and John Povilatis welcome Britta Gross, Director of Transportation at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). EPRI is an independent, non-profit energy R&D organization that works ac...
Jun 26, 2024•40 min•Ep. 29
On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis are joined by Willett Kempton, Professor at the University of Delaware. Willett is a leading expert in vehicle-to-grid (or V2G) technology, which enables vehicles to absorb excess energy from the grid when demand for power is low and returns some electricity back to the electric grid when the demand for power is high. Willett discussed the potential of V2G technology to transform renewable energy storage. He then talks ...
Jun 12, 2024•43 min•Ep. 28
On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, we welcome a very special guest, Dr. Sunita Satyapal, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Office. She manages the DOE Hydrogen Program's activities across multiple offices and oversees $1.6 billion in hydrogen and fuel cell research, development, demonstration, and deployment inside the office. She also manages over $9.5 billion in other hydrogen efforts across the DOE. Dr. Satyapal joins hosts Alan Selter and ...
May 21, 2024•28 min•Ep. 27
Demand for electric vehicles and building electrification keeps on increasing, yet much of America's electric transmission infrastructure is from the 1960s. There is now an attempt underway to improve electric transmission infrastructure by exploiting existing public rights of way, such as highways. On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Randy Satterfield, Executive Director of NextGen Highways, sits down with Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis to discuss not only the goals but the challenges...
May 09, 2024•36 min•Ep. 26
The movement to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, enhance air quality, address energy cost disparities, and transition to clean energy infrastructure is growing by the day. Neighborhood decarbonization has the power to not only deliver health benefits but positive climate implications as well. On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, Nicole Abene, Senior New York Legislative & Regulatory Manager at the Building Decarbonization Coalition, chats with Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis abo...
Apr 10, 2024•21 min•Ep. 25
In a world where there is more focus than ever on energy efficiency and the need to reduce carbon emissions, one company is offering energy-efficient equipment and software upgrades for businesses looking to lower their energy usage and meet their net-zero goals. On this episode, Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis welcome Al Subbloie, Chief Executive Officer at Budderfly. Through Budderfly's energy management service model, the company invests 100% of the capital towards energy infrastructure upgr...
Apr 02, 2024•38 min•Ep. 24
While it’s not new, fusion energy generation has long seemed a little too out of reach to be commercially practical. That is, until now. On this episode, Alan Seltzer and Frank Graves welcome Andrew Holland, Chief Executive Officer of the Fusion Industry Association. The Fusion Industry Association is a non-profit organization made up of private companies working to make commercial fusion energy a reality through advocacy and education. FIA is driven by a belief that affordable, clean energy is ...
Mar 19, 2024•39 min•Ep. 23
On this episode, Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis welcome David Arfin, CEO and co-founder of NineDot Energy. NineDot is a true innovator in the urban energy space. The company is developing and implementing clean energy business models for New York City. Evolving from a fuel cell project company started in 2015, NineDot was created in 2021 to build community-scale energy systems that support a more resilient electric grid and deliver economic savings, all while reducing carbon emissions. The epi...
Feb 27, 2024•35 min•Ep. 22
Hydrogen is becoming an increasingly popular fuel in the energy sector. Discussion of the fuel source as an alternative to natural gas has continued to grow. It can be combusted to deliver energy without producing carbon emissions and can come from a variety of sources domestically. But what’s the real story behind hydrogen, and how does it work? On this episode of Alternative Power Plays, our hosts John Povilaitis and Alan Seltzer welcome friends from the Brattle Group, Ragini Sreenath and Josh...
Nov 09, 2023•18 min•Ep. 21
